Making sure students are fed

Sunday

Mar 23, 2014 at 5:00 PM

Caitlyn Kelleher, Holly Camero and Spencer BuellGateHouse Media

Editor's note: Week two of a three-part seriesVicki Rose has sat in the front office of Thompson Elementary School in Arlington every day for seven years, working as the administrative assistant."We know there are students who, every day, they're coming in hungry," said Rose.At Thompson, one in four students qualifies for the federal free and reduced lunch program , a program that reimburses school districts for the cost of providing breakfast and lunch at a reduced price for students whose families have applied."If you're hungry, you can't learn," Arlington Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Bodie said. "You're totally distracted by your hunger."Some teachers keep extra snacks in their classroom – granola bars, bags of pretzels, juice - usually at their own expense. Sometimes, they walk with kids down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat."We're very aware of that and we're trying to do something about it," said Rose. "The food pantry is a big part of that, but the question is how to help people more regularly."The free and reduced lunch program helps kids from going hungry when their families are struggling to put enough food on the table. The program is also used by many school districts to count the level of poor and struggling families in a community - a number that varies significantly within the suburbs northwest of Boston.Eighteen percent of the students in Maynard public schools have registered for the free and reduced lunch program during the 2013-2014 school year. In the Billerica and Tewksbury Public Schools nearly 16 percent of its students registered for the program this school year.Low levels of poverty are recorded in public school districts like Acton-Boxborough or Concord-Carlisle, where about 4.5 percent of its student body is registered for the program.Those registered for the program varies within communities. Thompson's rate, about 30 percent, is about twice the Arlington district's overall rate of about 11 percent. In Westford there are no students registered for the program at the Millennium Elementary School, while nearly 7 percent of students are registered at the Day Elementary School."Every once in a while," Denise Boucher, director of food service for Arlington Public Schools said, "I'll get a phone call from a parent saying, ‘I'm interested in applying, but I don't want the front office at the school to know.'"Boucher offers counseling for families, explaining FRL requirements, often to those frustrated because they make just too much to receive the benefit or to families with a caregiver who has suddenly lost a job."They find themselves in a situation they never, in a million years, expected," she said. "Sometimes, it can be a little overwhelming."Although they have trouble keeping track, some school officials fear FRL goes unused for one reason or another.The issue for some may be that applying for the aid program could expose some families as living in poverty who would prefer to struggle in private, said Arlington Superintendent Kathy Bodie. For that reason, she said, protections have been put in place to keep kids' peers from knowing who is, and isn't, on FRL.At lunchtime, students get meals by entering a PIN number into a point-of-sale system, replacing a program that had FRL students using paper tickets.That way, students can't tell the difference between those getting free or reduced lunch and those whose parents have prepaid for their meals, said Denise Boucher, food service director for Arlington Public Schools.FRL paperwork has also become more discreet. Applications come directly to the food services office located in the High School, bypassing the reception desk.Boucher said parents who approach her asking for help applying - many who have trouble speaking English or are experiencing poverty for the first time - appreciate keeping their financial issues private."Every once in a while, I'll get a phone call from a parent saying, ‘I'm interested in applying, but I don't want the front office at the school to know,'" she said.Boucher offers counseling for families, explaining FRL requirements, often to those frustrated because they make just too much to receive the benefit or to families with a caregiver who has suddenly lost a job."They find themselves in a situation they never, in a million years, expected," she said. "Sometimes, it can be a little overwhelming."The state provides a list to schools of those who need free and reduced lunches through their informational database, but parents can also apply anonymously online through the schools' websites, or talk to a school counselor, teacher or the school principal. Still, it can be difficult for families to reach out."Families that are in transition are challenged by the unknown, the embarrassment, the feelings of not belonging to a community," Nashoba Regional School District Superintendent of Schools Michael Wood said."These issues may be taboo within the student population, on a person-to-person basis. However, discussions around poverty in America and school activities designed to help those in poverty -- WAVM Telethon, clothing drives, food drives -- would indicate that the topic is far from taboo broadly," said Charles Caragianes, Maynard High School principal.Support servicesKids living in poverty are much more likely than their peers to have English as a second language, struggle with coursework and need an individualized education plan, according to school administrators. Many area school districts have hired social workers and changed their transportation plans to help support the families in need."Some homeless students need minimal additional support during the school day while others require intense services around emotional needs, behavioral issues, transportation issues, and learning difficulties," said Maynard's Caragianes. "The range is wide and related to the individual student."Some group home residents are folded into the school system, while others are being taught in a transitional classroom, like the one at Arlington's Germaine Lawrence campus. Courses there are taught by Arlington teachers and are considered a part of the school district.Often, homeless students' life challenges can impact their education. The issue is widespread, Bodie said.“A lot of people don't understand how pervasive this issue is and how it really does affect children,” she said.Teachers and school staffs receive training to help students who are struggling.Towns such as Lexington, which has 7 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, have considered hiring social workers to supplement the support towns have provided. Lexington has an increasing population of homeless students and low-income students because homeless families are living in some of the local motels and hotels.The Nashoba Regional School District is home to about three homeless students and about 247 students – 7 percent - that qualify for free and reduced lunch programs each year. Those students are monitored more closely than their peers and may need special assessments, extra time for assignments or tutoring.Transportation needsState Rep. Ken Gordon, D-Bedford, said the expense and administrative work to cover the transportation for homeless students is hard on school districts. A large percentage of homeless students in suburban districts are those living at the hotels and motels that are part of the emergency homeless shelter plans."It is tough for a small town to pay for these costs," Gordon said.If the child is declared homeless, then federal McKinney/Vento Law allows them to return to their former districts for education. This is beneficial for students, who are trying to stay in touch with community, but it is also difficult for districts to absorb the costs.The cost for Bedford Public School to transport students back to their home district is about $40,000. Arlington Public Schools pays about $100,000 to transport students back to their home districts for school.Since budget cuts at the state level, communities now pay half of these transportation costs, where they used to pay just a fraction. The reimbursement rate in fiscal year 2013 for the program was 94 percent, but after a $3.95 million budget cut, the state will only reimburse 55-58 percent for fiscal year 2014, according to Lauren Greene, information officer for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.Gordon is working hard to advocate for other support networks and processes to end homelessness and poverty as a way to help support his community."We won't be able to functionally address these problems until we address the issues and roots of poverty," he said.Poverty impacts every family - and every district, school and classroom - differently. Addressing its range of associated issues, educators said, means making it easier for struggling students to learn."Children are very resilient and they seek ways for the issues not to weigh too heavily. Poverty, or in many cases in our communities it is the reduction of wealth, that can be very challenging to discuss and understand that it creates barriers for learning," said Wood, Nashoba's superintendent. "By this I mean, parents who are used to being able to sign their kids up for every activity who all of a sudden lose a source of income, have a hard time explaining this to their kids in ways that are helpful or in ways kids can understand."